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Tanguay signs five-year extension with Flames

Tanguay and the Flames have agreed to a five-year extension that will pay the offensively-gifted forward $17.5 million.

The deal became easier to construct once Robin Regehr agreed to waive his no-trade clause and head to Buffalo, which happened just moments before the second day of the 2011 Entry Draft commenced at Xcel Energy Center.

"One of the things that salary cap jail has done is that we have not been able to sign our own pending UFA's -- all of them," Flames GM Jay Feaster said. "We had to be very judicious because of the cap room situation. By completing the trade we did this morning, we casually created cap space and this morning we were able to conclude a deal with Alex."

Tanguay, 31, had 22 goals and 47 assists in 79 games for the Flames last season. In 818 career games, he has 225 goals and 686 points.

Next season will be Tanguay's 12th in the NHL.

"He's going to be with us a long time," Feaster said. "If the man with the biggest smile in Calgary isn't Alex, it's Jarome Iginla -- because that is one guy that Jarome has been very clear that he wants to be able to play with. Certainly, our entire organization is thrilled to have him back. As we looked at the potential UFA market, we didn't see a player that could be as productive as we believe he can be."